The Impact of Health Literacy on Knowledge and Attitudes towards Preventive Strategies against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 18(10)2021 05 19.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1234737
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic introduced a set of mitigation measures based on personal behavior and attitudes. In the absence of vaccination or specific treatment, it became essential to comply with these measures to reduce infection transmission. Health literacy is the basis for changing behaviors. AIM:
To characterize the impact of literacy on knowledge and attitudes towards preventive strategies against COVID-19.METHODS:
This cross-sectional study involved an online questionnaire applied to students of the University of Porto, Portugal, containing questions about knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 based on European guidelines. Health literacy was assessed through the Newest Vital Sign questionnaire. Logistic regression estimated the relationship between health literacy and both knowledge and attitudes.RESULTS:
We included 871 participants (76.3% female), with a median age of 22 years old. We found adequate literacy in 92% of our sample, irrespective of gender and age. In the global analysis, 78.6% of the participants had adequate knowledge, and 90.4% had adequate attitudes. We found that better literacy was significantly associated with attitudes towards COVID-19, but not with better knowledge. In a model adjusted for gender, age, and previous education in the health field, female gender and previous education in the health field were associated with better knowledge and attitudes.CONCLUSION:
Better health literacy is associated with better attitudes towards preventive strategies against COVID-19. We should invest in ways to improve health literacy, so we can improve people's attitudes and consequently reduce coronavirus' transmission.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Health Literacy
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph18105421
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